Knowing the Name of Jesus (Kannada) — Zac Poonen

Psalm 91: Promises and Conditions

Let's turn back to Psalm 91. If you remember in our last session, we saw these wonderful promises God has given us here. And there are promises with conditions. Because He has loved me, I will deliver Him.

I will set Him on high because He has known my name. Psalm 91 verse 14, and we looked at that first thing, there are only three conditions mentioned in these verses. He loves me, He has known my name and He calls upon me.

And the promises are, at least eight of them, the promises, there are eight of them, I will deliver Him, verse 14, I will set Him on high, I will answer Him, I will be with Him in trouble, I will rescue Him, I will honor Him, I will satisfy Him and He will let Him see my salvation.

God keeps His word if we keep the conditions. And we saw the first thing is always to love Him with all our hearts. We want to look at this and let me repeat what I said last time that to love God, we need to first understand how much He loves us.

And we must know how much He has forgiven us. If you don't love the Lord more today, it's because you don't know how much He loved you. Or you have forgotten how much He has forgiven you. I want to show you a verse in that connection, in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 9, it says, He who lacks these qualities is blind, having forgotten His purification from his former sins.

You know what that verse is saying? The reason you are spiritually blind is because you have forgotten how many sins you were cleansed from in your past life. I don't want to be spiritually blind. But if I forget how much I have been cleansed in my past life, I will be spiritually blind.

Let me repeat, we must never feel guilty about even a single sin in our past life if we have confessed all of them. Because we have been forgiven. So in my life, I don't feel guilty about anything in my past.

Because the blood of Jesus has cleansed me. Not even one small sin bothers me. Remembering, I try to remember all of them, as often as possible. Why? Because I don't want to be spiritually blind. Let me tell you another thing, the reason we are very hard on other people is because we have forgotten how much we have sinned ourselves.

I have seen many believers who are so hard on other people when they do something wrong. Let me ask you husbands, why are you so hard on your wife? I will tell you. Because you have forgotten what a wretched sinner you have been.

And why are you sisters so hard on your husbands when they do something wrong? Because you have forgotten what a wretched sinner you were. It is impossible to be hard on other people when we know what wretched sins God saved you from.

So, let me recommend two things that you must meditate on all your life. Never forget them. Always meditate on them. One, how much Jesus loved you, suffered for you. Two, how much Jesus loved you, suffered for you.

And secondly, how many sins you committed in your life. Let it always be in front of you, these two things. And then you will love the Lord with all your heart. And then your problem of victory over sin will also be solved.

If you try to love the Lord without meditating on these two things, you will be like a man building a house without a foundation. This is the foundation. On which you must build. Okay, now we want to go to the second thing mentioned here.

Knowing the Name of Jesus

Verse 14. It says, he has known my name and therefore I will set him on high. See, like this verse we have been thinking of from the beginning, I will honour those who honour me. It's a condition. If you don't honour him, he doesn't honour you.

What does it mean to know his name? We all pray in the name of Jesus. You need to understand what it means to pray in that name. Let me turn you to Matthew chapter 1. That's the first time we read about the name Jesus being spoken to somebody.

Nobody had ever heard the name Jesus before on the earth. But now, this name is being used by the angel. Verse 21 of Matthew 1. The angel comes to Joseph and says, you shall call his name Jesus. Long before that.

Many months before that. The same angel had gone to Mary. And told her that she is going to have a child. You read about that in Luke chapter 1. But he never told Mary what to call that child. He just said, the son of God is going to be born through you.

Some months later. When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant. Then the angel comes to Joseph. And says, you must call his name Jesus. That's the first time anybody used that name on this earth. In relation to the saviour.

And that was in Matthew 1 .21. And then he explains the meaning of that name. So, what did we read in Psalm 91? Because he has known my name. I will set him on high. When we know what that name means.

We see there what God wants to do for us. What is that? His name means, he shall save his people from their sins. So, it's not forgive their sins. There is a difference between forgiveness and salvation.

You know that in your life. See, when you, supposing you get angry. Or you lust or you tell lies. And you say, Lord forgive me. He forgives you. But he hasn't saved you. Because tomorrow you may do the same three things again.

Were you forgiven? Yes. Were you saved? No. This is the condition of most believers. They are forgiven. But they are not saved. Forgiven of their sin. But not saved from their sin. We must know what the name Jesus means.

If it means only, he will forgive their sins. Then of course, we cannot expect anything more. But now listen. The first time the word Jesus was used is here. And the angel said, he will save his people from their sins.

So, the first thing you need to understand is the difference between being forgiven and being saved. And most Christians don't know that difference. When you ask a person, are you saved? They say yes.

But they don't mean that they are saved. What they mean is, they are forgiven. Because if you ask them, are you really saved from your sin? If you ask them again, are you really saved from your sins? No, I am still defeated by those sins.

Then you haven't understood what the word Jesus means. You have misunderstood. It's not he will forgive his sin, he will save. And that is probably the condition of many of us sitting here. So, when you hear a message like this, you should be really excited.

Forgiveness and Salvation from Sin

See, supposing you have gone and committed a murder. You are locked up in jail for life. And the relatives of the people who murdered you, they come to the jail and say, ok, we forgive you. They are happy.

You are happy. Because they have forgiven you. But, are you saved from the prison? No, you are still in the prison. But, if the judge says you can go free, then you are a free man. Now, the condition of many believers is this.

They are forgiven, but they are in a prison. The prison of some sin. And the reason is, they have not heard the truth. Jesus said, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. The word gospel means good news.

Now, is it good news, just to know that you are forgiven, but you will always be defeated all your life? I'd say, to me, that's about 10 good news. But, many people are happy with that. But, a few people are not happy.

They say, Lord, there must be more than that. You mean, you forgave me, in order to leave me in this wretched condition? No, no. You must know the truth. The gospel is, He will save you from your sins.

So, that's the first thing I want you to know. The difference between being forgiven and being saved. The second thing I want you to see here is, in Matthew 1 .21, who is going to save you? Are you going to save yourself, or is He going to save you?

If you have fallen into a well, a very deep well, you can't save yourself. There are no steps to climb up. Somebody from outside has to save you. This is the second mistake a lot of people make. What is the first one?

They believe forgiveness is salvation. So, I hope you've seen that distinction. Forgiving and being saved are two different things. The second thing I want you to see is, God does not ask you to save yourself.

You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. So, when a person says, Brother, I've been trying for so long, I'm not able to get victory. It's like this man who has fallen into a 100-foot well.

He says, Brother, I've been trying for many years to get out of this well, and I can't get out. I say, you can try for another 100 years, you won't be able to get out. Somebody else has to pull you out.

You've got to believe that you cannot save yourself. See, in one simple sentence, this is the difference between law and grace. In law, you try to save yourself. In grace, somebody else saves you. Under the law, there was nobody available to save people.

Moses couldn't save anybody. Till Jesus came, there was no savior. God forgave people, but nobody could save them. That's why the name Jesus is so wonderful. We sing the song, Jesus is such a sweet name.

Yeah, but it's a very powerful name. Because it means one who came to save me from my sin. And for that, first lesson the Lord wants us to learn is I cannot save myself. That is very important for Christians to learn, but they take a long time to learn it.

Grace, Self-Salvation, and Victory over Sin

Now, when it comes to forgiveness of sins, if I tell you, you cannot do anything to forgive your own sin. You all believe that. What did you do to get forgiveness of sins? Did you do one good work? No.

Did you get forgiveness of sins by giving money to God? Or going on a pilgrimage? Or giving money to the poor? Or doing some other good deed? It was free. You realized, I can do nothing to get my sin forgiven.

Jesus did it all for me. I receive it freely. I think everybody here understands that. But you go to any non-Christian in the world and ask him, how do you expect your sin to be forgiven? You know what he'll say?

I give money to the poor. I give money for God. I go on pilgrimage. They are trying to save themselves. Some of the sadhus roll on the ground in order to get their sins forgiven. Some go and dip in a river to get their sins forgiven.

They are doing something to get their sins forgiven. Exactly like you are trying to do something to get salvation from your sin. It's very difficult for them to believe that Jesus will forgive them freely.

They say, no, we have to do something. Just like it's difficult for you to believe that Jesus will save you from sin. No, I have to do something. You are saying exactly what those non-Christians say for forgiveness of sins.

So one day, one of those non-Christians suddenly realizes, I can do nothing. Lord, I receive your forgiveness freely. He gets forgiveness like that? And one day, if you also realize, I cannot save myself.

Jesus has to save me. That day, you will also understand victory over sin. So you see how your thinking is exactly the same as the thinking of that non-Christian? You started with grace. How did you get forgiveness of sins?

By grace. But you try to get victory over sin by coming under the law. That's the mistake. The mistake here is you think you can get victory over sin. That's wrong. In Galatians, chapter 3, verse 3, Galatians 3, verse 3, Are you so foolish?

Having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Have you forgotten how you started your Christian life? Didn't Jesus do it for you? What did you have to do? You had to do something.

You had to receive what he gave you. See, it's like if somebody gives you a gift, you have to receive it. Like if somebody gives you a cheque for one lakh rupees, it will not come into your account unless you go and give it in the bank.

But it's a gift. But you have to receive it. If you don't receive it, you don't get it. You go and give it in the bank and you put your signature at the back, you get it. So, victory over sin also. It's a gift.

He will save his people from their sins. Many Christians haven't understood this. Just like those non-Christians haven't understood that forgiveness is free. Just like those non-Christians haven't understood that forgiveness is free.

Why do we think like this? Because man once has got a pride which says, I must do something. God says, you can do nothing. Jesus used the picture of a branch in a tree. When you see a lot of fruit hanging on the branch and you go and ask the branch, how did you produce so much fruit?

I did nothing. In fact, I can't do anything. I just stay inside the tree and the tree keeps sending up the sap, this juice into me and the fruit comes. I don't know how. That the tree gives me. This is a perfect model for the life in the Holy Spirit.

If you forget this, you can't the mystery of the Holy Spirit. A lot of people if they have only one experience, they say, I must get the Holy Spirit. Very good. But, some people who have experienced this, after one year they see their life has changed.

Abiding in Christ and the Life of the Spirit

We have to learn this. Jesus said, a branch is hanging on a tree. What does the branch do? It just remains in the tree. That's all. It doesn't have to struggle to produce fruit. You see the mangoes hanging on the branch?

What did the branch do? It did not struggle at all. It just remained in the tree. That's what Jesus meant when he said, abide in me. That is the secret of the overcoming life. In the Old Testament they could not do that.

Because there was no tree. It's a branch by itself trying to produce fruit. And when you are like that, you cannot produce fruit. Then why did God give the law to teach people? You cannot do it on your own.

But if you abide in me, it will come automatically. If you read Exodus chapter 20, Exodus chapter 20, here we read about the Ten Commandments. Starting from verse 2 onwards. And these Ten Commandments are basically, you must do this and you must do that.

And you must not do that and you must not do the other thing. You must keep the Sabbath day holy. You must not make idols. You must honor your father and mother. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal.

Notice one thing in all the Ten Commandments. It's telling people you must do this or you must not do that. All Ten Commandments are like that. And people say, yeah, we heard what God said. And what is their response?

They said, yeah, everything God has said we will do. But did they do it? No. They couldn't do it. They thought they could do it. See, just like when you hear a message in the church, you say, yeah, I'm going to do that.

Well, you think you're going to do it, but you're not going to be able to do it. But in the New Testament, you see in Hebrews chapter 8, this is very important to see this chapter. Verse 7. Hebrews 8, verse 7.

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would be no need for a second. Which is the first covenant? What we read in Exodus 20. You must do this, you must not do that. You must do this, you must not do that.

God says it was faulty. Verse 7. Chapter 8, verse 7. There was something wrong with it. What was wrong with it? Nobody could keep it. Nobody could keep that commandment. And God knew that. Then why did he give it?

To teach people, you can't do it. Because we are so stubborn. I mean, even I've seen in the church, no matter how much you preach this, people still think, yeah, I can get victory over sin. Because we are so proud.

I can do it. I can overcome my anger, I can overcome my lust. And God says, okay, go ahead and try. It's like the disciples who said, we can catch fish. God said, okay, go ahead and try. And you know, they tried all night in John 21, they got nothing.

Did God know beforehand they'll get nothing? Yeah, he knew that. But they didn't know it. Does God know before you start trying for victory over sin that you can't make it? He knows it. No, you don't know it.

You may take 20 years to know that I cannot get victory over sin. Then God has to wait 20 years. Some people learn it in one year, then God has to wait only one year with them. The sooner you learn that, the quicker God can lead you to victory over sin.

What is that? Without Jesus, you can do nothing. We are so strong. We think we can do. You can't do. So that's why the first covenant was faulty. So God made a second covenant. And he says in verse 8, he says finding fault with that first covenant, he says now, verse 8, I will make a new covenant.

Verse 9, this will not be like the old covenant which I made. What is the difference? Verse 10, this is the covenant that I will make. And in the next three verses, he tells us about the new covenant.

And notice one big difference. He never says, you shall do this and you shall not do that. You must not do that, you must do this. No. Not even once. What does he say? I will do this. I will do this. I will do this.

See that, verse 10. Middle. I will put my law into their mind. I will write them on their heart. I will be their God. They shall be my people. All shall know me. Verse 11. Middle. I will be merciful to their iniquities.

Verse 12. And I will remember their sins no more. Do you see a big difference between Exodus 20 and Hebrews 8? If you have understood that, then you have understood the new covenant. It is all in the name of Jesus.

He will save his people from their sins. That is the entire emphasis on the New Testament. See, the book of Jude. It's just before Revelation. The Hindu book. Jude 24. He is able to keep you from falling.

He is able to keep you from stumbling. He is able to make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy. Who is going to do that? Okay, let's take the second thing first. Let me ask you.

Who can make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy? I don't think any of you will say I can do that myself. Only the Lord can do that. But the first thing also it says the same way.

He is able to keep you from falling. It took me many years to understand that. The day I understood it, changed my life. Now, you can hear it a hundred times, one day it clicks. Now I saw it. But when you see it, it will change your life.

It's a very simple truth. Without me, Jesus says, you can do nothing. That's John 15 verse 5. See, this is like a coin. Just remember it like this. First of all, John 15 verse 5. He's talking about the branch and the tree.

The branch can bear no fruit without the tree. The last part of verse 5, without me, you can do nothing. That is one of the greatest truths we need to learn. You turn the coin over, and it's written there, Philippians 4 .13.

Philippians 4 .13. I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. Chapter 4 .4 .4. So, here are two statements. Without Christ, I can do nothing. With Christ who strengthens me, I can do everything that God wants me to do.

He can strengthen me in my spirit. He can strengthen me in my mind. He can even strengthen me in my body and heal me to do everything that I'm supposed to do. No, there are a lot of things God doesn't want me to do.

I'm not interested in doing those things. But whatever God wants me to do, I can do it. You must believe that. It doesn't mean that if Christ strengthens you, you'll be able to preach like me. That may not be your calling.

See, in the body, the ear cannot see. The eye cannot hear. The hand cannot walk. And the feet cannot pick up things like the hand can. So each part has got a different function. But if it's not paralyzed, it can do everything God created it for.

If the eye is not paralyzed, it can see. And that's what He's saying. Whatever God has called me to do, I can do it through Christ who strengthens me. That's why we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit all the time.

Christ strengthens us through filling us with His Holy Spirit. Not that He filled me with the Holy Spirit 10 years ago. That's like saying I put petrol into my scooter tank 10 years ago. I filled it. I filled it.

What's the use of that? Scooter is not moving today because it's empty now. No, I need to have my tank filled all the time. And I can do everything that God wants me to do. You must believe that. That God can strengthen you to do every single thing that He wants you to do.

Praying in the Name of Jesus

That was not possible under the Old Testament. But today, what it said, because He has known my name, I will set Him on high. See, many people use the name Jesus. We pray in the name of Jesus. You know what you're actually saying to God?

Father, this is my request. I am praying in the name of one who came to save me from my sins. Remember that. When you say, in Jesus' name, I am praying, Father, in the name of one who came to save me from all my sins.

Most Christians who pray in the name of Jesus don't even know that. They keep on praying in the name of Jesus every day. And keep on being defeated in sin every day. They have not known His name. But Psalm 91 says, if He knows my name, I will set Him on high.

God has given Jesus a name which is above every other name. In the name of Jesus. And in that name, we can be saved from all our sins. That is what we need to understand. And that's a wonderful blessing God has given us in the new covenant.

The Holy Spirit and Freedom from Sin

See, Romans chapter 8. In Romans 8, Paul says, about two laws. In verse 2. One is the law of the Holy Spirit. And the other is the law of sin and death. And this law of sin and death, he describes in verse 23.

Chapter 7, verse 23. He says, I see a law in my members, always warring against the law of my mind. Making me a prisoner of the law of sin. See, the law of sin is exactly like the law of gravity. And the picture you have to see here is Paul trying to fly.

As he tries to fly, he finds that gravity pulls him down. You and I find that too. You try to jump up, gravity pulls you down. However much you try to jump, it pulls you down. Paul says, sin is exactly like that in my body, the law of sin.

You try jumping, suddenly you are pulled down. And you try to live a holy life, the law of sin pulls you down. No, you try a hundred times to jump, you get pulled down immediately. You try to live a holy life, you get pulled down.

But now, he says something else has happened in verse 2 of chapter 8. Another law came into my life. That set me free from the law of sin. To use an example, if God, who gave the ability to these birds to fly, could somehow put that ability inside me, I can also fly.

Because God is the one who created those birds. And every day you see those birds overcoming gravity and flying in the air. How wonderful it is to be a bird. See, when you come to a river, you are stuck.

How can you cross? But the bird just flies over. You come to a mountain, you can't do anything. The bird flies over. If you are riding a scooter, you come to a road block, you stop. But the bird flies over.

You are driving a scooter, there is a traffic jam, you are stuck for half an hour. The bird flies over. It's wonderful to be a bird. And if there is an obstacle, it just flies over that. This is how this law of the spirit operates.

The holy spirit lifts me up over this law of sin and death. That is the wonderful thing that Jesus has come to bring. And I believe that is where the Pentecostal movement has gone completely astray by only talking about speaking in tongues.

I don't want to criticize them because they have emphasized the fullness of the holy spirit unlike other groups in Christianity. I don't want to criticize them because they have emphasized the fullness of the holy spirit unlike other groups in I praise God for all those who emphasize that you must be filled with the holy spirit.

But I say the law of the spirit, he doesn't say the law of the spirit made me speak in tongues. Thank God for that gift. He set me free from the law of sin and death. That is the meaning of knowing his name.

What is the meaning of his name? He will save his people from their sins. By putting inside them his holy spirit. The law of Moses was ten commandments. But the law of the spirit is not commandments. It says here, it is life in Christ Jesus.

The life in Christ Jesus, that is the law of the spirit. It's not a law of written commandments. The law of the spirit is a life that comes into me. The life. That is the law of the spirit. A life like the life of the bird coming into me and lifting me up.

The life of Christ Jesus comes into me through the holy spirit. What does the holy spirit bring into my life? The life of Jesus. The same life that enabled him to overcome sin can enable me now to overcome sin.

That's why when a man says I'm filled with the spirit but I'm defeated by sin, I said how can that be? That's like saying I got the life of the bird but I can't fly. How can that be? You know a lot of people have doctrine but they don't have power.

Has a hen got wings? Yes or no? Can it fly? This is exactly how many Christians are. All the doctrine is there. They're still crawling on the earth. But look at that eagle that's got wings and it can fly.

God wants to give us the power of the holy spirit. Let's pray. Heavenly father it's so easy to understand things in our head. Lord bring reality into our life. Where sin has no power over us. We pray in Jesus name.

Amen.